Lynne Crozier obituary

Lynne Crozier was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when she was 65. Her last visit to hospital was to donate blood for genetic research into MND

My sister-in-law Lynne Crozier, who has died of motor neurone disease aged 67, was so beautiful and fun-loving that once you had met her you didn't forget her.

Brought up in Streatham, south London, the daughter of Mark Berditch, a barber and black-cab driver, and his wife Hettie, who worked in the rag trade, Lynne had two younger brothers, Ian and Derek. She trained as a hairdresser in the West End salon of Vidal Sassoon, which was right at the heart of swinging London in the 1960s. At the age of 19, she was selected with a friend to appear on the cover of the first issue of Petticoat magazine, on 19 February 1966.

In her early 20s, after a spell in Vancouver, Canada, she returned to London and became engaged to the fashion entrepreneur Marshall Lester. This was short-lived and she went on to marry Ashley Brodin; they had three sons, Darren, Gavin and Simon. They divorced and Lynne returned to work, pioneering the Lena White OPI acrylic nail system. She then met the film sound recordist David Crozier and they married in 1992. Lynne often joined David on location, becoming one of the "crew".

Lynne was 65 when she was diagnosed with bulbar motor neurone disease – a progressive condition that damages the nervous system, affecting the ability to swallow, speak and breathe. She embarked on a "holiday of a lifetime" to visit Indochina with David, returning to host many evenings at the home they had redesigned, always starting with her signature champagne cocktail. She still gardened, although she could no longer take long walks with David and her Lakeland terrier Millie. She continued to keep in touch with friends and family through her iPad.

Lynne's last hospital visit was to donate blood for genetic research into MND, hoping to help the work of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and others in finding an effective treatment and cure. Our "Mighty Atom" was defiant right to the end.